Aiden Markram blasted successive sixes off Pat Cummins to seal an eye-catching seven-wicket win for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

After Kolkata put 175-8 on the board, Hyderabad reached their target with 2.1 overs to spare, thanks to Markram's 68 not out from 36 balls and an equally explosive 71 from Rahul Tripathi.

At Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, only three Kolkata batsmen reached double figures, but Shreyas Iyer's 28, a rapid 54 from Nitish Rana and 49 not out by Andre Russell looked to have helped them to a competitive score. T Natarajan took 3-37, including the wickets of Iyer and Rana.

As it turned out, Sunrisers won with comfort, recovering from losing Abhishek Sharma (3) and Kane Williamson (17) early in their reply as Tripathi and Markram put on 94 for the third wicket.

Tripathi was furious at himself for holing out to long on with the team score on 133, giving Russell (2-20) a second wicket of the innings, but Markram took over the heavy scoring mantle from that point.

He finished the contest in style in the 18th over, taking a lusty four through midwicket off Australia Test captain Cummins before going the same way off the next ball.

Markram hooked the subsequent delivery for six over deep square leg, clinching a third win in a row for Sunrisers, who began the season with two defeats.

Knight Riders' missing ingredient

It is now two defeats in a row for Kolkata, who had won three of their first four in this campaign, and captain Iyer had little doubt where they had fallen short this time.

He said the batters had "put in a great effort" to post a healthy score, adding: "It was just a bad day for us from a bowling point of view, and we need to sit back, reassess stuff and come back stronger."

While Cummins (1-40 in 3.5 overs) took the bludgeoning late on, the likes of Aman Hakim Khan (0-13), and Varun Chakravarthy (0-45) proved too expensive before the match reached that point.

Tripathi onslaught turned the game

Reaching a half-century from just 21 balls was an outstanding effort from Tripathi, tilting momentum firmly the way of Sunrisers. He hit six maximums in what was comfortably his best score of the IPL season so far, passing the 44 he managed in an early defeat to Lucknow Super Giants. He was eventually out to the 37th ball he faced, with Sunrisers well on the way.

"It's nice to bat when a guy like Tripathi gets going," Markram, who hit four sixes in all, told beinSPORTS. "He almost gives you a bit of time to settle in. He really set a nice platform, and it feels good to get the win for the side."

The Delhi Capitals put in their best performance of the season with bat and ball to secure a comfortable 44-run win against top of the table Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

The Capitals made a strong start, reaching 148-1 within 13 overs after Prithvi Shaw and David Warner had caused some damage, with Rishabh Pant continuing the good work after Shaw fell for 51.

However, a minor batting collapse saw them slip to 166-5, with Warner eventually out for 61 after he could only find Ajinkya Rahane on the boundary off the bowling of Umesh Yadav (1-48).

Axar Patel (22 not out) and Shardul Thakur (29 not out) rescued the innings, though, smashing an additional 49 to set the Knight Riders an imposing total of 216 for victory.

Venkatesh Iyer looked to be setting the tone at the start of Kolkata's reply, hitting 18 from eight balls before falling to Khaleel Ahmed (3-25), who also took the wicket of Rahane (8) shortly after.

Shreyas Iyer (54) and Nitish Rana (30) tried to build a foundation for the chase, before both fell in the 12th and 13th overs.

Sam Billings could only manage 15 before hitting Ahmed to Lalit Yadav, before Kuldeep Yadav (4-35) took three wickets in his last four balls to extinguish any hope for the Knight Riders, who were eventually all out for 171.

Warner and Shardul lead the way

After making just four from 12 balls in his first game of the IPL season against the Lucknow Super Giants, Warner found his form here as he hit 61 from 45 balls, including six fours and two sixes.

Shardul also plundered an important 29 from 11, hitting Pat Cummins for six off the last ball, one of three maximums he managed in his short time at the crease, before also going on to take 2-30 with the ball.

Cummins struggles continue

It has not been the start to his IPL season that Cummins will have hoped for with the ball, having conceded 100 runs from eight overs so far.

The Australia Test captain took 2-49 last time out against Mumbai Indians, but only managed 0-51 from his four overs here, being hit for three sixes.

Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum and assistant coach David Hussey have heaped praise on his star man Andre Russell.

Pat Cummins blasted an astonishing record-equalling half-century to secure a five-wicket Indian Premier League win for Kolkata Knight Riders over Mumbai Indians.

The Indians posted 161-4 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Suryakumar Yadav top scoring with 52 off 36 balls with support from Tilak Varma (38 not out) and Kieron Pollard (22no).

Mumbai looked to be on course for their first win of the tournament when KKR were 101-5 in the 14th over, but Australia Test captain Cummins had other ideas.

The paceman matched KL Rahul's record for the fastest IPL half-century from 14 balls and put the Knight Riders top by hitting Daniel Sams for six to seal victory with four overs to spare, Venkatesh Iyer also playing a big hand with an unbeaten 50.

Andre Russell blasted a blistering unbeaten half-century and Umesh Yadav claimed his best Indian Premier League figures as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Punjab Kings by six wickets.

KKR moved to the top of the table with an emphatic victory at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday after bowling the Kings out for 137 all out off 18.2 overs.

Yadav took 4-23 off his four excellent overs as Punjab fell well short of posting a challenging target, Bhanuka Rajapaksa top scoring with 31 and Kagiso Rabada making 25 down the order on his debut.

The new-look Kings side crumbled from 62-2 in the sixth over, with dangerous duo Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone getting starts but failing to go on.

Tim Southee claimed 2-36, while Sunil Narine took 1-23 from his full compliment of overs, and Russell removed Rabada with the first ball he bowled before ending Punjab's innings by whipping off the bails to run Arshdeep Singh out off the next delivery.

Rabada removed Ajinkya Rahane, who reached the 4,000-run IPL milestone before falling for 12, and Venkatesh Iyer was dismissed by Odean Smith for only three.

It appeared to be game on when Rahul Chahar saw the back of Shreyas Iyer (26) and Nitish Rana, reducing KKR to 51-4 seven overs into their run chase.

But West Indies all-rounder Russell then took centre stage, bludgeoning 71 not out from only 31 balls in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 90 with Sam Billings to get the Knight Riders home with 33 balls to spare.

Yadav takes purple cap

Seamer Yadav set the tone by trapping Mayank Agarwal leg before in a first over of the match that went for only two runs after Shreyas Iyer won the toss and put the Kings in.

He also had Livingstone caught in the deep, cleaned Harpreet Brar up and sent Chahar on his way to become the leading wicket-taker early in the tournament with eight from three matches.

Russell fit for the Kings

Russell was an injury doubt due to a shoulder problem, but he was firing on all cylinders as he put on yet another show to take over as the leading run-scorer in the 2022 IPL.

The Jamaican powerhouse struck eight sixes in a brutal knock, three of those coming off Smith in a 12th over that went for 30 runs. Russell finished off the job in style by launching Livingstone over the rope in successive deliveries.

Dinesh Karthik was the hero for Royal Challengers Bangalore as they edged to a three-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.

In a remarkable Indian Premier League clash on Wednesday, the Challengers needed seven off the last over as they chased down a modest target of 128.

Wanindu Hasaranga had starred with the ball for Bangalore, taking 4-20, with Andre Russell (25) the only Kolkata batter to surpass 20 runs.

The Knight Riders started well in response with the ball - Anuj Rawat going for a duck in the first over before Faf du Plessis (5) and Virat Kohli (12) fell to Tim Southee (3-20) and Umesh Yadav (2-16) in quick succession.

David Willey's steady 18 helped steady Bangalore, but they could not pick up the run rate, with Shahbaz Ahmed (27) and Sherfane Rutherford (28) also departing – the latter to Sheldon Jackson's excellent catch.

Hasaranga lofted a Southee delivery to Russell to put the pressure on, yet two excellent boundaries from Harshal Patel (10 not out) had Bangalore in the box seat heading into the final over.

Struggling with a shoulder problem, Russell stepped up to bowl, yet Karthik hit a short ball for six before sending the next delivery down the ground to seal a hard-fought win.

Karthik bides his time

In total, Karthik spent 23 minutes at the crease, yet only faced seven deliveries. And after surviving a scare with a miscalled run, the 36-year-old made the final two balls count, showing great composure under huge pressure.

Russell decision backfires

Russell had to leave the field midway through Bangalore's chase to receive treatment on his right shoulder, but it was he who was handed the ball for the decisive final over.

Shreyas Iyer was swiftly made to regret that call, with Russell finishing with figures of 0-36 from 2.2 overs.

Kolkata Knight Riders eased to a six-wicket win in Saturday's 2022 IPL opener, with MS Dhoni unable to rescue a result for defending champions Chennai Super Kings in his first match since stepping aside as captain.

Dhoni skippered CSK to their fourth title in 2021, beating KKR in the tournament decider, before his shock decision to allow Ravindra Jadeja to lead the side this year – one of two notable changes that left the Super Kings looking a little short.

CSK first missed the steadying presence of the departed Faf du Plessis – Player of the Match in last year's final – at the top of the order and were in need of a lift from Jadeja when he arrived in the middle in the eighth over.

Instead, he had Ambati Rayudu run out and almost consigned Shivam Dube to the same fate before finally settling alongside Dhoni.

The 40-year-old still did much of the heavy lifting in their 70-run, 56-ball partnership, scoring 35 off his final 13 deliveries to reach an unbeaten 50 and allow Jadeja's (26 not out) innings-ending six to take the Super Kings to what they hoped would prove a competitive 131-5.

Ultimately, that was not enough, as 44 from KKR opener Ajinkya Rahane ensured the chase was always ahead of the game.

Three Dwayne Bravo wickets saw him draw level with Lasith Malinga's IPL record of 170, but Shreyas Iyer, KKR's own new captain, finished the job with his unbeaten 20.
 

Teething problems for first-time skipper

There were no safer pair of hands in the IPL last year than Jadeja's, as he made 13 catches – the most of any player excluding wicket-keepers. But this was a nervy bow as captain in his 201st IPL match, only looking remotely comfortable with the bat once Dhoni – walking in to huge applause – took control.

Similarly, Jadeja appeared far happier playing his natural game than making big calls in the second innings, taking a simple catch from Rahane but soon blowing a review on an lbw appeal that saw Sam Billings clearly glove the ball.

KKR's long wait for Wankhede win ended

KKR ultimately fell just short in the final, but they were happy to see the 2021 tournament shifted to the United Arab Emirates due to coronavirus. The Knight Riders had won only one of their previous six IPL matches in India.

They may well have feared this match at Wankhede Stadium then, a venue at which they had suffered eight successive defeats. However, a first KKR win here since May 2012 was secured with relative ease.

Andre Russell and Sunil Narine both had solid outings with the ball to help the Kolkata Knight Riders secure a six wicket win over defending champions Chennai Super Kings to kick off the 2022 Tata Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

The Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field first, a decision which was proven right early as the Super Kings lost openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (0) and Devon Conway (3) in quick succession.

Despite a fighting 50 not out from former captain MS Dhoni, Chennai could only muster up 131-5 off their 20 overs.

Umesh Yadav bowled a fiery spell to finish with 2-20 from his four overs.

Narine went wicketless in his four overs while only conceding 15 runs and Russell took 1-38 from his four overs.

KKR then got through their chase with little resistance thanks to a top score of 44 from Ajinkya Rahane and solid contributions from Sam Billings (25) and Nitish Rana (21).

Captain Shreyas Iyer (20) and Sheldon Jackson (3) were at the crease when KKR got to 133-4 with nine balls to spare.

Despite the loss, Dwayne Bravo was excellent with the ball taking 3-20 from his four overs and, in the process, joining Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga at the top of the all-time IPL leading wicket-takers list with 170.

Alex Hales has withdrawn from the Indian Premier League due to bubble fatigue.

The English batter had been due to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in a tournament that starts on March 26.

Hales on Friday revealed he will not travel to India due to the strains of spending so much time in bio-secure environments due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

He tweeted: "I am sad to announce that I have made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from the forthcoming IPL.

"Having spent the last four months away from home in restrictive bio bubbles and having tested positive for COVID myself in Australia, I don't feel as though I can commit myself to another extended period within a secure environment.

"It wouldn't be fair on the team or myself if I wasn't able to perform to the level expected of me as a result of ongoing bubble fatigue.

"I am truly gutted to have to turn down one of the best opportunities of my career due to the toll that the last two years of bubble life has taken on my mental well-being.

"I'll now take some time to rest and recharge ahead of the summer."

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game of the 2022 Indian Premier League.

KKR will be out for revenge at the Wankhede Stadium on March 26 after the Super Kings won the 2021 final by 27 runs in Dubai last October.

There will be a first double-header in the 15th edition of the tournament the following day, when Delhi Capital take on Mumbai Indians at Brabourne before Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore do battle at the DY Patil Stadium.

New franchises Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants meet in their first IPL match at Wankhede Stadium on March 28.

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals contest the first game at the MCA Stadium in Pune on March 29.

There will be 70 matches in the regular season following by four play-off showdowns in a tournament that will be staged over 65 days, with the final taking place on May 29.

Attacking left-hander Nicholas Pooran was the most expensive West Indian purchase at the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction which began on Saturday.

Pooran went to the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise for 10.75 crore (USD 1.43 million).

The Sunrisers will be his third IPL franchise after previously representing the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings.

Jason Holder, formerly of the Sunrisers, will be suiting up for the new Lucknow Super Giants after being snapped up for 8.5 crore (USD 1.16 million).

Dwayne Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer were the only other West Indians sold on day 1 to the Chennai Super Kings for 4.4 crore (USD 583,953.04) and the Rajasthan Royals for 8.5 crore, respectively.

Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard were all retained by their respective franchises before the auction.

Indian left-hander Ishan Kishan had the honour of being the most expensive pick-up of this year’s auction after going to the Mumbai Indians for 15.25 crore (USD 2.03 million).

Day 2 of the auction takes place on Sunday.

The Chennai Super Kings won their fourth Indian Premier League title after victory in an enthralling final against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

A brilliant batting display led by Faf du Plessis's superb 86 saw MS Dhoni's men reach 192-3 in the first innings in Dubai.

KKR, who had won both of their previous IPL finals in 2012 and 2014, made a decent fight of a forlorn-looking chase but finished 27 runs short on 165-9.

Du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad (32), the top-scoring batsman of the IPL season, put up an opening stand of 61 before the latter was caught by Shivam Mari off a delivery from Sunil Narine (2-26).

Du Plessis was unperturbed, blunting the Knight Riders' attack with ruthless efficiency in a stellar knock. Robin Uthappa also scored 31 off just 15 balls before being trapped lbw and Moeen Ali kept up the impeccable standards with 37.

By the time Du Plessis was caught by Mari at long-on off the final ball of the innings, KKR's hopes were already looking slim, although they still mustered a creditable challenge.

Dhoni, in his 300th match as a captain in T20 cricket, dropped what looked a routine catch in the second over and Venkatesh Iyer took full advantage as he raced to a half-century.

It looked as though his stand with Shubman Gill (51) was finally over at 79-0 when Ambati Rayudu got a fine running catch, but Gill was granted a dead-ball reprieve after it struck one of the spider-cam cables on its way down.

Iyer was not so fortunate when he sent another ball from Shardul Thakur (3-38) high into the sky, Ravindra Jadeja grasping it in outstretched fingers as Kolkata's hopes took a major blow.

Du Plessis caught Nitish Rana for a first-ball duck and Narine holed out to Jadeja four deliveries later, as the middle order began to collapse.

Gill (51) was struck flush on the pad as he tried an ambitious scoop shot before Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan and Rahul Tripathi were out for 11 runs combined.

Captain Eoin Morgan fell five runs short of reaching 1,000 in the IPL, Deepak Chahar taking a brilliant boundary catch, as the party started among the yellow shirts in the stands long before the fireworks flared after the final ball.

Four-midables

The Super Kings have now beaten the Knight Riders in six of their past seven IPL meetings, including the previous four in a row.

This was their ninth final, at least three more than any other side has reached, but they had only won three of the previous eight and were beaten by Kolkata in the showpiece nine years ago.

Yet their batting display was of a quality worthy of champions, Du Plessis in particular showing power and poise as he hit seven fours and three sixes en route to a third IPL title with the franchise.

Luckless Lockie

Before this match, Kolkata had a bowling dot-ball figure of 40 per cent, the best of any side in the competition. Here, they had little answer to the Super Kings' batting excellence.

Lockie Ferguson endured an especially tough time, posting figures of 0-56 and giving up nine boundaries and two wide balls from just four overs.

Eoin Morgan hailed the pressure-free environment Kolkata Knight Riders have created after his side sneaked past Delhi Capitals to reach the Indian Premier League final.

The Knight Riders limited Rishabh Pant's side to 135-5 and seemed certain for victory after a 96-opening run stand from Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer.

However, a flurry of late wickets left Kolkata requiring seven to win off Ravichandran Ashwin's final over to secure their final berth and maintain their perfect chasing record since the United Arab Emirates-based resumption.

Rahul Tripathi stood up to the task, blasting Ashwin's fourth ball for six after the off-spinner had removed Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine with consecutive deliveries to leave the score at 130-7.

And Morgan cited Wednesday's qualifier clash as an example of the freedom of expression that the Knight Riders' culture has created.

"It should've been a lot easier after the start we got, Venky [Venkatesh Iyer] and [Shubman] Gill set us the platform," Morgan said at the post-match presentations.

"But we're in the final and we're delighted to get over the line. Six off two [in the final over], the odds were probably in favour of the bowling side, but Rahul Tripathi has done superbly well for us.

"It's a nice insight into our team culture. The young guys coming in are feeling free to express themselves. The backroom staff have created an environment for them to do this."

Iyer was bumped up the order after the coronavirus-enforced delay and the two-time IPL champions have since won seven out of nine matches – winning four games in a row for the first time since the 2018 edition of the tournament.

However, Morgan refused to take credit for the top-order alteration as Iyer continues to thrive, blasting 320 runs in the competition across nine matches at an average of 40.

"The Iyer idea [his elevation] came from the coach, he's a terrific player," England and KKR's captain continued. "He made the chase easy, it looked like he was batting on a different wicket.

"With the squad we have, there's expectation. We would like to keep going and we are playing against Chennai Super Kings – one of the best franchises in IPL history – but anything can happen."

Kolkata Knight Riders secured their place in the Indian Premier League final with a last-gasp three-wicket win over the Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2.

Eoin Morgan's side limited the Capitals to 135-5 from their 20-over allocation as Varun Chakravarthy (2-26) was ably supported by Lockie Ferguson (1-26) and Shivam Mavi (1-27).

Shikhar Dhawan (36) and Shreyas Iyer (30 not out) were the pick of the batsmen but the Capitals were left facing an uphill battle, knowing Kolkata had won on all five occasions they have chased following the United Arab Emirates-based resumption.

Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer then got the Knight Riders off to a flyer, forming a 96-run opening partnership as the former raced to a 38-ball half-century before falling to Kagiso Rabada (2-23).

The Capitals, who are the only side to qualify for the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, managed to remove Nitish Rana (13) and Gill through Anrich Nortje (2-31) and Avesh Khan (1-22) respectively to leave the score at 125 after 16.4 overs.

Rabada knocked over experienced campaigner Dinesh Karthik (0) to further hamper the chase and when Morgan (0) followed in the same manner to Nortje, seven runs were required off Ravichandran Ashwin's final over.

Ashwin (2-27) conceded just one off his first two balls, removing Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine with his following two, before Rahul Tripathi (12 not out) smashed a maximum to collect the Knight Riders' seventh win in their last nine matches with just one ball to spare.

The win means Morgan's team will meet MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in Friday's final as the Capitals fell before the showpiece once more.

Classy Chakravarthy

Chakravarthy may have overstepped and offered Shimron Heytmer a lifeline on just two, however, the Kolkata bowler escaped without too much punishment as the West Indian mustered just 15 more runs.

The 30-year-old was the only Knight Riders bowler to not concede a single maximum, delivering seven dot balls in an economical spell through the middle overs.

Nervy Narine

Narine was the man of the hour against the Royal Challengers Bangalore as he took 4-21 and blasted a 15-ball 26, but he failed to back up that heroic performance.

The KKR off-spinner went wicketless in his four-over allocation, conceding 27 runs before falling for a first-ball duck as he looked to launch his side to victory.

Sunil Narine played an inspirational role with the ball and then provided a boost with the bat as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Royal Challengers Bangalore with two balls remaining to move to within one match of their first Indian Premier League final since 2014.

First, Narine (4-21) was essential in ensuring Bangalore could only set a modest target of 138 runs as he took a match-high four wickets, and then his arrival at the crease provided KKR with direction at just the right time as they ultimately reached 139-6.

Delhi Capitals await in the next round as they prepare to tussle for the right to face Chennai Super Kings in the final, marking an incredible turnaround in KKR's fortunes after winning only two of their first seven matches prior to the season's suspension in May.

Bangalore had initially looked in good shape as Virat Kohli (39) and Devdutt Padikkal (21) helped them to 49-0 after five overs, before the latter went to Lockie Ferguson at the start of the sixth.

They did not lose another wicket until Narine's first over in the 10th as he tempted Srikar Bharat to pick out Venkatesh Iyer. The same man then accounted for captain Kohli, who misjudged a delivery when going for a slog sweep, AB de Villiers (11) and Glenn Maxwell (15) to put KKR in complete control.

Shubman Gill (29) started the chase well, but KKR hit something of a rut and were 79-3 through 11 overs when Narine came in to again turn the tide.

Three sixes from the first three legal deliveries he faced on his way to 26 set KKR on course, even if RCB forced an intriguing finish when Mohammed Siraj claimed Narine and then Dinesh Karthik (10) in the 18th over.

Seven from Eoin Morgan and Shakib Al Hasan off four balls in the final over got the job done.

Narine the double threat

This was a wonderful showing from Narine, further highlighting the surprising nature of his omission from the West Indies squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. His four wickets were twice as many as anyone else, while RCB only took 21 runs from his deliveries. He then gave KKR the kick up the backside that they needed with the bat, initially getting 23 runs from just nine balls.

Christian taken for a ride

The main difference between these sides on the day, and Kohli accepted as much afterwards, was the bowling. Dan Christian may have only bowled 1.4 overs, but that was an exceptionally expensive cameo, costing 29 runs, the joint-most of the RCB bowlers.